Beautiful Souls

Chrystal Winter's life is about to change forever. Fleeing from her dark past and her former self, she finds her self making a small but successful living in sunny LA. Whereupon, she meets the young, wild force of nature that is Ashton Irwin. Immediately drawn to one another but for what reasons? Chrystal's heart isn't the only thing she's desperate to keep secret...

21. Chapter 21

Serene Japanese music filled the room, and the red curtain slid back revealing a small figure, dressed in fine black silk, hiding her face behind a large fan. Luke Hemmings rolled his eyes and looked away. He was utterly bored, there was a thousand other places he'd rather be than this dingy strip club. His best friend, Calum, had been dying to visit here for months and he'd finally agreed. He'd earlier begged Ashton to come with and keep him sane but Ashton wasn't his self lately. He'd met this girl and he hadn't stopped talking about her, or singing about her, or writing about her. Luke had only seen Ashton like this once over a girl, and it was a very long time ago. She must be very special. At least Michael was here, he thought, glancing to his right and seeing his friend's wild red hair. The place wasn't that bad really, it was clean and well constructed, and even he had to admit that every girl he had seen so far was stunning. He glanced over at the girl who had welcomed them, she had brilliant red hair like Michael's and was sexy as hell. Definitely a slut though, he thought. All the girls in here were filthy sluts to him.

Michael, Luke and one more boy were seated in the booth furthest from the stage, in the corner. Michael sat on the inside and Luke sat beside him, the boy who was called Jacob, sat across from the two boys. Luke turned his head to face his friend, about to make a dirty joke when Michael's expression stopped him. He was staring, his green eyes wide and his mouth hung open slightly. Curious, Luke followed his gaze to the stage and lay eyes on her face for the first time. He gasped and stared motionlessly at her. She was tiny and from the short distance between them, she looked ridiculously young. She was thicker in body than girls Luke would usually go for but he couldn't tear his eyes from her. It wasn't her beauty that struck him dumbfounded- he'd seen many prettier girls- but there was something about her gentle manner and innocence that had him enchanted. As he watched her, he slowly felt all existence of time and space slip quietly by. There was only her, and the sultry lit stage. She was a terrific dancer. She moved gracefully and offered small, shy smiles to the boys who sat closest to her. Luke frowned, there was another reason he couldn't keep his eyes off her and he wasn't sure why. There was something disturbingly familiar about this girl, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Luke ripped his gaze from her to glance briefly at Calum, who had also fallen under her spell. She hadn't looked in his direction, not once. Annoyed, he preposition himself in his seat a few times, trying to engage her attention. As if she could read his thoughts she looked up at him. He froze, their eyes locked for a second and for that single second he felt the whole world slide into place and suddenly everything made sense. In that short second, he saw his own self mirrored in that small girls eyes. Her smile seemed to waver for just a moment, before she turned her gaze away from him. She didn't look at him again. Did she feel that too? He impatiently waited for her to finish, watching her take a small bow before stepping off the small stage. He immediately stood up and began to walk towards her. She spoke to the tall woman with black hair, she seemed annoyed. He needed to talk to this girl, he had to know her.